silver bells is my favorite christmas song

• Currently listening to Michael Buble (Holiday) station on Pandora. (That's obviously the only option.)
• Loving that it's the most wonderful time of the year.
• Craving a peppermint mocha from starbucks.
• Let's be honest for a moment: I have done about -34% of my christmas shopping for the year.  Is a negative percentage possible?
• On the up side, that means I have done some shopping...just not the important shopping.  You know, for the BIG gifts everyone looks forward to.  Just because not everyone is going to appreciate a stick of lip balm wrapped in shiny green paper.
• Maybe you have thus far gathered that I chose to skip out on the black friday and cyber monday fun. I value my sleep and sanity.
• Is it getting desperate to ask a coworker "if you were my mom, what would you want for christmas"?
• Speaking of work, I get to go to my first work christmas party next week.  Ex.cite.ment.
• And speaking of christmas parties, I'll be hosting my second annual caroling party this year.  If you've never been caroling before, let me sum it up for you: it's about the most fun and christmas cheer you can pack into a few dozen cups of hot chocolate and rosy noses. (???...)
• And speaking of rosy noses, why does this time of year seem to bring snifflies and husky voices?  I sound like I've been smoking since 1977.

On that note, I leave you.  Maybe in the morning I'll sound like Lucille Ball.  Win.

Thanksgiving manners.

If you haven't already done so...you need to watch this.

Albania-Part 1

Aren't they beautiful?  These were people from the first village we visited.  There's a church in this village and  we were handing out food bags and candy to anyone who came.  Everyone was so hungry for love and it was so special to be able to give the love of Jesus to them.

Everyone, especially the children, were simply infatuated with our cameras.  If you pulled out your camera, you were an instant celebrity.  And speaking of celebrities...

...they all thought Abishai was one.  The boys followed him around everywhere.

The view from our hotel.

Real cobblestones!  A real market!

We visited the Kruja Castle...gorgeous.

While we were there, we witnessed a beautiful sunset.

So there are the first few pictures!  More to come.

Jet-laggin'

I just got back from Europe on Saturday.

Wow.

A team of 27 of us were gone for a week to the lovely country of Albania.  We also stopped in Munich on our way back.

May I just say that I'll never be the same.

I'll post pictures and stories soon.

But until then, suffice it to say that jet lag is real folks.  It's real.